Sailors back on top
LOS ALAMITOS — It was fitting that the Newport Harbor High girls’ had to beat Los Alamitos on Tuesday to take what the Griffins had the last three years, the Sunset League title.
It also was fitting that Newport’s senior No. 1 doubles team of Anna Burke and Kendall Cosenza would be the ones battling it out when everyone else was done, as darkness descended on the tennis courts at Los Alamitos High.
The match result was already decided, but Burke and Cosenza have never been known to give up. So, when they won the last five games to rally for a 7-5 victory over Los Al’s Karoline Pintar and Dominique Dozier, it nicely put the finishing touches on the Sailors’ 11-7 team win over the Griffins.
Burke and Cosenza, the four-year varsity starters as a doubles team for Newport Harbor, know how much the league title means. Each of the past three years, the Sailors finished second to the Griffins in league.
But now the title is the Sailors’ alone, as Newport Harbor (15-1, 8-0 in league) clinched it outright with two league matches remaining.
It’s the first league title for Newport Harbor since 2011, and it means a lot for the strong class of senior starters including Burke and Cosenza, the No. 2 doubles team of Olivia Zehnder and Elle Zielinski, as well as No. 1 singles player Jenn Kingsley. Yet, they aren’t content.
“I don’t think we’ve really soaked it up yet,” Kingsley said of a breakthrough season that currently includes a No. 5 ranking in CIF Southern Section Division 1, and No. 2 in Orange County by the Register. “We’re all so focused right now.”
Kingsley certainly appeared focused on Tuesday for the Sailors against the Griffins (7-6, 5-3). She easily swept her three singles matches, beating Catt MacEachern, 6-1, Hope Hairrell, 6-2, and Merrit DuBourdieu, 6-0. The win over Hairrell, a senior who has given Kingsley tough matches in the past, was especially impressive.
“I felt really loose and fluid today,” Kingsley said. “I had a lot of confidence going in.”
Burke and Cosenza also swept for Newport Harbor, including a 6-4 win over the tough doubles team of Erika Cheng and Hailey Hairrell. Cheng is a two-time league finalist in doubles with Los Al graduate Sydney Bott.
Everyone contributed for the Sailors, who got at least one win from every spot in the lineup. In the first round, it was Hannah Blower’s 6-4 win over DuBourdieu at No. 3 singles that helped the Sailors take a 4-2 lead, as well as Taryn Anderson and Eva Newsom’s win at No. 3 doubles over Dozier and Pintar by the same score.
Lily Walkow won once at No. 2 singles, and Anderson and Newsom won twice. As for Zehnder and Zielinski, they lost two tough sets, but rebounded for a 6-1 win over Rebekah Chung and Mina Mizutani in the third round. That clinched the match, as Newport Harbor had a 9-6 lead with the last round of doubles still to be played.
First-year Los Al Coach Hannah Holladay, a former standout player at UC Irvine, switched around the Griffins’ doubles teams for the second meeting in league. Cheng had played singles the first time the teams met, which was a 12-6 Newport Harbor win. But the Sailors were still able to prevail.
“The way that everyone competed today was really amazing,” Cosenza said. “Our hard work is paying off.”
Newport Harbor Coach Kristen Case said that her players deserve the accolades. The No. 2 ranking in Orange County is the Sailors’ highest in Case’s nine seasons in charge of her alma mater. The Sailors have won 11 straight matches since their only loss of the season, a 12-6 setback in a competitive Battle of the Bay match against Corona del Mar. CdM is currently the No. 2 team in Division 1.
“Now the standard is set,” Burke said. “All the juniors, they can only improve. Everyone did amazing today.”
Newport Harbor plays host to Marina on Thursday and concludes league play on Monday at Edison.
The Sailors are looking to finish strong. They have kept the same starting lineup since early in the season, and it’s paying off for them, not that the numbers have much significance.
“We don’t really play into the whole lineup thing,” Cosenza said. “You’ve just got to do your part and get the win. We started this journey together in July, and all of it is paying off right now.”
